Game #12 Samford at the ARC 12/19 1pm CT

[VUSWIM08-12]

Ok, I'll shut up about Weatherspoon! 2 3's in 90 seconds

[mj]

Well that was ugly. Lost by 18 this year after losing to them by 30 last year. Progress?

I thought that Coach Powell had a young team ready, for the most part, to break the Samford press. Last year's team would have lost by 40.

[vu72]

OK guys, we all know this is going to be a long season and in part because are guys are gassed, mainly because they have 18 and 19 year old bodies. Other than DeAveiro, we got 13 minutes from someone not a freshman or sophomore.  We started two freshman and two sophomores. Add the constant pressure they were under and you get tired legs, terrible shooting and the resulting score.

[VU2014]

This roster has some major holes.

I put this loss on the coaching search committee dragging their feet on the hire of Powell, to not give him and his staff enough time adequately recruit.

There is a lot of high upside young talent, but this Team has some glaring roster construction needs that the staff didn't have adequate time to recruit for in the offseason...

I've mentioned is before but I wouldn't mind if Palm and Barrett didn't use their final year of eligibility at Valpo... sounds harsh but we could really use those scholarships elsewhere

[justducky]

I thought that Coach Powell had a young team ready, for the most part, to break the Samford press.

Our ball handling was good against an excellent full and half court defense!    BUT!!  We played 40 minutes with no true center scoring threat. AND!!  WE couldn't stretch their half court defense because we have too few experienced and confident players who who can even hit open 3's let alone those which are highly contested.

There is a lot of high upside young talent, but this Team has some glaring roster construction needs that the staff didn't have adequate time to recruit for in the offseason...

Sad but true.

I've mentioned is before but I wouldn't mind if Palm and Barrett didn't use their final year of eligibility at Valpo... sounds harsh but we could really use those scholarships elsewhere

Also sad but true! Even with good health and average year to year development their just isn't much program upside to seeing either return for 24-25. Lastly but obviously, these two are not great fits for the Roger Powell style of play.

[valpotx]

Good handling of the press for the majority of the game, but we are a team that thinks that they have a lot of good jump shooters, who are not really good jump shooters.  For any of you that have tried to point out the difference in team quality/competition during the MVC years versus our dominant Mid-Con years, one of the glaring differences is that we made the majority of our wide open shots back then, and completely brick them over the last few seasons.  There was one open shot that Edwards took in the last 10 minutes, that wasn't even close to the rim.  It was moving closer to the FT line versus anywhere near the rim.  Edwards needs to be a mid-range and around the basket guy, as he is extremely athletic.  Stafford needs to have a shot maximum moving forward, as we can't waste 15 shots each game, in the hope that he hits that one hot game.  Sepp and Schwieger need to be more involved in the offense, as they take high percentage shots and seem much more in control versus others.  Weatherspoon should play more, based on today, as well.  I do remain optimistic, but our play is just so frustrating, that it makes it hard to see our path back to having a respectable team.  We were very spoiled in 20 of the last 27 seasons. 

[AB]

over under two more wins the rest of the season? lol

Samford is a good team and if they get the right match up they could win a game in March Madness as a 14 seed or something. They have a clear identity and better talent. You can see they played with a lot of confidence in their system, and knew they were gonna make shots to stem Valpo's mini runs. They had answers every time. Valpo was chasing a lot in the half court defense in the second half and our guys got tired.
Yes will be a long season and we can only speed up development so much. Barrett is a shot maker and needs to keep shooting but his footwork on defense is so bad. Only criticism I have today, is they needed to get Cooper a lot more shots/looks in the paint. Dude could have put up 25 easy.
 

     

[crusadermoe]

Wow, this is going be a grind.  But we all know we hired the right coach and he needs two years of full recruitment time.  I am so sad to be nearly right about predicting an 81-65 loss. 

The tired legs would certainly affect shooting.  However, I think the first half shooting has been really bad too. Do we simply not have enough inside threats to make defenders run back and forth to double the bigger guys and also guard the shooters?  I think that might be a bigger factor?

[valpotx]

We had quite a few wide open shots in both halves, so I don't think we can blame anything on tired legs.  We had a few close misses, but also some that you just wonder how a D-1 basketball player can miss so badly.  Lubos Barton has to be wondering what the heck is going on with some of our misses, as those should be drilled.

[valpo64]

What a tough game to watch for VU fans.  Two things stand out to me:  DeVeiro should not be the point guard getting the most playing time if others are available.  Other teams are now on to the fact that pressuring him takes him out to the game as he cannot get to the bucket and finish or get off a shot in close.  The increased pressure appears to making him more prone to turnovers.  While he has been getting some assists now and then and a bucket every once-in-awhile, he is VERY inconsistent.  Because of his lack of weight and size a good offensive player can take him inside and he then is overmatched.

My second point is that in addition to having a young, inexperienced team, we also have a relatively young inexperienced head coach.  I am not saying Powell should not be our Coach, but he also has to grow into the job of running a complete Div1 team and all that it encompasses from Recruiting to game plans and how to finish a close game.
This will be a long season of learning for us all so we need to be patient as tough as it may be.

[covufan]

If we play like the last five games we'll be lucky to get three wins.  If we can play like Illinois, Southern and much of Drake, we could win 6.  I'm not seeing the improvement over the last 5 games I was hoping for with this coaching staff.

I didn't watch the last game, but looking at the stats and it comes down to 3 point shooting and defending.  If we hit at NCAA average and defended to same average, we have a tie game.  I think we are getting good looks in the games I've watched, but seem to be more than a bit off.  I'm with Tx - Barton must be shaking his head. 

I'd be interested in seeing what the stats for when Schweiger, Stafford, Williamson, Sepp, and Ajiboye are on the court together.  After not being in rotation for a few games, Sepp has really contributed into a starter.  Palm needs the same energy when he enters games now - defense and rebounding with intensity for every minute he is out there. 

[VULB#62]

I sporadically watched the Samford game or resorted to Game Tracker. What jumped out at me (no pun intended) was the number of times there were 3-4 freshmen on the floor together.

Even with that, we held Samford to like 12 points under their average (remember, they beat Belmont 99-93). 

Another thing that the stats revealed, that was also kinda obvious in the video when you think about it, was the number of offensive rebounds we gave up to them - sometimes 2-3 put backs.  We have got to learn to box out under the boards or else it undermines any good defensive play leading up to a shot.

[valpopal]

Another thing that the stats revealed, that was also kinda obvious in the video when you think about it, was the number of offensive rebounds we gave up to them - sometimes 2-3 put backs.  We have got to learn to box out under the boards or else it undermines any good defensive play leading up to a shot.

Oddly, the box score shows both teams with 13 offensive rebounds, and Valparaiso actually won the second-chance points battle 13-4.

[VULB#62]

Pal, when I saw your corrective post, I said no-way.  I checked the final box score and you're right about the ORBs. TBT, I was going by the trend that I was seeing on GameTracker early in the second half or so and just extrapolated.   My bad.

But in doing that review, I noted that Samford shot almost 51% from the floor and went YIKES  . 

[JD24]

Valpo should have problems on the boards. They're skinny, young and flatfooted or some combo thereof in the front court.

[SanityLost17]

As everyone has noted, we have major holes in this roster, particularly a lack of a "Mid-Major-D1 Big man", whether that be a true PF or a C.     The more game film other teams have on us the more they are going to exploit that.   

Don't take that to mean the team is not improving.   On a man to man level individual players have definitely progressed as the season has gone on but a lot of that progression has been taken away from coaches having game film on us and exploiting the holes in our roster.     

Every freshman and sophomore has had moments of showing their potential.   Some of that potential would show through more with a complete team.   You put Brodie from Drake on our team and all the sudden every single one of our freshman and sophomores look better as some of the pressure is taken off them and they get more open looks as Brodie stretches the defense and pulls the occasional double team.   

Also, somebody help me out here.   After this season the average age of the college athlete should drop, right?    Or is next year the last year for COVID extra eligibility?   It is a tough time to be a freshman right now.   This team would be doing better 5 years ago when they were not encountering as many 5th or 6th year seniors.   Just a thought.   

[VUBBFan]

Also, somebody help me out here.   After this season the average age of the college athlete should drop, right?    Or is next year the last year for COVID extra eligibility?   It is a tough time to be a freshman right now.   This team would be doing better 5 years ago when they were not encountering as many 5th or 6th year seniors.   Just a thought.   


Next season is the last. We have two that are eligible, Connor and Palm.

[wh]

Also, somebody help me out here.   After this season the average age of the college athlete should drop, right?    Or is next year the last year for COVID extra eligibility?   It is a tough time to be a freshman right now.   This team would be doing better 5 years ago when they were not encountering as many 5th or 6th year seniors.   Just a thought.   

Next season is the last. We have two that are eligible, Connor and Palm.

The NCAA's decision to award an extra year to players before even knowing how COVID was going to impact the 2020-21 season was ridiculous. Connor and Palm have been on scholarship for 4 seasons and have had an opportunity to play for 4 seasons. Valpo doesn't OWE them a 5th year. If they want to continue playing, put your name in the transfer portal. Truthfully, I highly doubt anyone in the country will bite, which means it's time to get on with your life, like everyone else in the world. Roger didn't recruit these guys; he inherited them. Look how Rick Pitino cleaned house at St. John, or Prime at Colorado. If they weren't worried about blowback, why should Valpo? Speaking of which, our image couldn't possibly get worse than it is now. Roger has been handcuffed enough by the complete mess he inherited without making it worse than it already is.

[vu84v2]

Universities are under no obligation to provide a roster spot or scholarships for athletes who gained a year of eligibility because of COVID. Thus, those decisions should be based solely on merit and fit.

[justducky]

If they want to continue playing, put your name in the transfer portal. Truthfully, I highly doubt anyone in the country will bite,

If Conner gets healthy and back in shape he might draw a bit of interest. Never say never but it is harder for me to imagine Palm continuing in D-1 basketball.

[valpotx]

If Trey Woodyard can succeed at the D1 level with New Hampshire, Connor would be available to find a similar level home.

[VULB#62]

Great find TX. Started 15 games last season and has started all games this season. Leads team in a couple of categories. UNH just beat URI. They are decent. Glad he found the right home.